Two former police officers lied about enlisting a civilian to perform a breath test after one of them crashed a police car after a night of heavy drinking, a court has heard.
Senior Constable Wade Hawkins and Remote Sergeant Christopher Beaumont fabricated sworn statutory declarations, after Beaumont crashed a police car the morning after a night of heavy drinking in the remote community of Yulara, near Uluru.
The men have pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Beaumont also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to a statement of facts read to the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin on Thursday, the two officers began drinking shortly before 7pm on November 26, 2021.
Just after midnight Beaumont was filmed "simulating licking and snorting" wine which had spilled on a table at the Outback Pioneer Hotel in Yulara.
When the hotel closed, Beaumont drove a marked police car to the Yulara station, where he met Hawkins and a group of others who continued drinking at the police social club.
Beaumont was seen vomiting after "sculling" [sic] a can of cider and appeared "highly intoxicated".
At 3:47am he texted a colleague to call in sick for work the following day.
During the early hours of the morning, Hawkins drove other members of the group home, before returning the police car to the station and walking home.
The following day, just after 6am, Beaumont drove a marked police car along Yulara Drive and crashed into a large rock monument on the side of the road, forcing airbags to deploy and damaging the monument.
Beaumont, who was the sergeant of Mutitjulu police station, drove the car home to Mutitjulu, an Indigenous community inside the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park, before calling Hawkins in a distressed state and asking for help.
After reporting the crash to superiors in Alice Springs, Beaumont approached a civilian neighbour and said: "I need to you blow into the breathalyser to get a zero reading."
The court heard the neighbour "reluctantly agreed" as Beaumont was stressed, anxious and was known to be the sergeant of the police station.
Hawkins and Beaumont later each signed statutory declarations stating Beaumont had returned a 0.00 reading on a breath test.
Days later, after other officers began investigating the crash, both Hawkins and Beaumont admitted they had lied and were each charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Lawyers make bid to avoid jail
Lawyers for Beaumont, barrister Mark Thomas and high-profile solicitor Luke Officer, told the court the former police officer recognised his "fault and failing" and had already suffered extra-curial punishment.
"He has, in one fell swoop, destroyed his reputation both in [Mutitjulu] and more generally, and is throwing away a lengthy and productive career in the NT Police," said Mr Thomas.
Mr Thomas said Beaumont was willing to pay more than $10,000 to cover the costs of the damage he caused.
Hawkins' barrister, Ray Murphy, said his offending was short-term and "not sophisticated" before he admitted to the crime.
"The fact is my client had been sweating on this ever since the time he's engaged in that unlawful conduct. It had been playing on his mind the entire time," Mr Murphy said.
"When my client was contact by Mr Beaumont, Mr Beaumont was distraught."
Crown prosecutor Marty Aust said while the offenders were "men of good character", their crimes were serious and struck "at the heart of the administration of justice".
"Both of these men were well-regarded, well-respected, hard-working police officers who really were the face of the NT Police department in a remote community, where many of the members of that community were socially disadvantaged and Aboriginal and looked to them to uphold the law and be the face of the law," Mr Aust said.
Attempting to pervert the course of justice carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Justice Stephen Southwood ordered home detention reports be prepared before the men are sentenced in May.
Both men have since resigned from the NT Police force.
